Ok, I just noticed that the Nat’l Bike Challenge thread got shut down.
I didn’t really try to perform an exegesis (nor would I want to) but I didn’t really catch why this was done. It’s not like it got infested with some white supremacist mud-slinging (or whatever it was on that other thread), at least that I could tell.

I mean, it’s ok to shut a thread down when it fails or if it’s worn out its welcome, but it would also be nice to have a final message that explains what happened. (What did happen?)

i wondered the same thing myself about the NBC thread… especially because i wanted to add that this qr code might be helpful in getting peoples point totals to show up on their phones:
(theyll still need to login, though)

I originally was curious about how Pittsburgh (the city) was getting beat by the rider(s) from Presto and Wilmerding. I know that this has to do with the population-adjusted scoring scheme, but still. This means that had I planned ahead and moved to a small town (preferably with population of 1 or 2) I would, like, totally dominate the charts. Instead I’m just hanging on, somewhere down in the hundreds.

At least now I know that there’s a Presto in Pennsylvania, maybe to go with Intercourse (or, maybe, not).

The BikePgh battle of the bikes (or whatever it’s called) page on Endomondo (and is that a play on the word endomorph?) has a pointer to the corresponding Cleveland site. Over there the postings have taken on an edge of desperation:

[may 1] — “Every mile gets us one step closer to claiming the Rust Belt Crown from Pittsburgh”
[may 2] — “[R]ight now they are up by 1,300 miles. Spread the word about the Challenge and log your miles. WE have to keep that Rust Belt crown in CLE.”
[may 3] — “[W]e are down by over 2,500 miles to PGH. Get out and ride…”
[may 6] — “Cleveland is getting rocked! Pittsburgh has over 5,000 more miles … Tell your friends to get in … and start logging those miles. We need to make sure every mile counts for CLE.”

Meanwhile, on the Pittsburgh page, the posts are about getting people to pay attention to their spelling and about how to get free beer.

Presto is a village in Collier Township, just north of Bridgeville. Google estimates it as about an 11-mile ride to Downtown, one-way, so if someone out there is commuting to an office in the Triangle, that’s 42 points/day right there…

This is possibly the only thing that makes me wish my commute weren’t under 3 miles…

My own (direct) commute is 1.63 miles (according to the Endo). But since that just doesn’t feel right, I try to do 4-5 miles in each direction. I would do that anyways, not because I’m intent on beating CLE, but because I like to bike. Also, I like beer.